We proud to announce that San Saba has once again earned recognition from Keep America Beautiful. The beautification organization hosted their 65th-anniversary conference in Dallas on January 17 – 19, 2018.

Our own city manager, Stan Weik was recognized during January’s awards luncheon as a past Iron Eyes Codyrecipient. The award is the top honor granted by the KAB to a male member who exemplifies KAB’s mission. This prestigious, and well-earned, award is named for the crying Indian in the canoe represented in KAB’s first national ad campaign in 1971.

“We don’t clean up communities just to keep America beautiful. We clean up so Americans can #DoBeautifulThings.” – Keep America Beautiful

Mr. Weik was also asked to be a presenter during the Best Practices for Small and Rural Communities session. The session included behavior change strategies, recycling co-ops and ways to increase funding and revenue sources. As San Sabians know, Stan has been a visionary in his commitment to beautifying San Saba and long-term strategy to increase tourism revenue. From the landscaping and upkeep of hundreds of acres of city park space to the Visit San Saba campaign that has generated substantial increases in hotel/motel and sales tax, Stan has first-hand knowledge of the demands that come with maintaining a community to allow Texans to do beautiful things. Mr. Wiek was also asked to moderate the “I AM Keep America Beautiful” during the President’s Circle Breakfast, on which he served as a panelist in 2017.

KSSB – 2017 Affiliate Award of Excellence – a total of ~17 national affiliates won this award this year.

KSSB – 2017 Affiliate Award Under 30,000 Population

KSSB – 2017 President’s Circle Award

SSISD – 2017 Youth and Education – School District Award

Good news said, don’t expect us to rest on our laurels (i.e. awards) up here at the top of the Hill Country. We’ve got a whole new year of beautification projects lined up. Here are some of the upcoming city improvements that you can expect around town.

Our new visitor’s center is officially open! The center offices San Saba Economic Development Corporation, the San Saba Chamber of Commerce and Keep San Saba Beautiful. The center is a one-stop shop for all those visiting San Saba. A really neat feature of the center is the custom pecan counters that came from our very own golf course (and a potential conference table as well). We will keep y’all up to date on open house details! The Visitor Center is located at 113 S. High Street, (325) 372-5200. Hours are: Monday thru Friday 8 am to 5 pm with a noon-hour lunch break and Saturday from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm.

New pavers have been installed in front of the newly renovated and reopened G&R Grocery. Lamp posts are also on order and Keep San Saba Beautiful will soon start a search for planters to increase the aesthetics of downtown. TXDoT will begin working on installing pavers, lampposts, and planters along with creating handicap accessible ramps and railings. We also are expecting $120,000 in funding from the Governor’s Community Achievement Award that the city won last summer at the Keep Texas Beautiful Conference.

These awards are only made possible by the fine folks who take the time to clean, beautify, educate and promote community involvement to better our surroundings and environment. Thank you for your commitment to keeping San Saba beautiful. Your efforts are what makes our wonderful community at the top of the Hill Country a true Texas gem for residents and travelers alike.

About Keep San Saba Beautiful | Keep San Saba Beautiful was formed in 2009 to both inspire and educate people on the everyday actions they can take to improve and beautify our community. The award-winning affiliate of Keep Texas Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful, is a City of San Saba Commission lead by eight board members who are appointed by the city council. The group is a volunteer-based group that promotes events to combat litter, reduce waste, beautify public spaces, and educates students on how their actions impact our surroundings. Ongoing projects include the maintenance of downtown planters, citywide cleanups, recycling competitions, and school education lessons. We also have quarterly city-wide cleanups like the Keep San Saba Beautiful “Don’t Mess With Texas” cleanup.